Sunday, August 31, 2008

Ravelympics – Final Update

I actually got the stole done in time for the Ravelympics deadline. In fact, I got it done early, on Friday 22 August, because my husband and I were going out of town for the weekend.

I had a few bad moments when I realized that despite my best efforts at binding off loosely, I wasn’t managing to do it. My bind off had no give to it whatsoever, and I was afraid I was going to end up with an overgrown scarf instead of a stole. It took me the better part of an hour to undo the bid off and get all the stitches back on the needle. Then I switched to US6 tips, and conducted what has to be the loosest, sloppiest bind-off I’ve ever made.

01-Bind Off

I was reasonably certain that it would block well, so I tried not to be too concerned with how it looked fresh off the needles.

In fact, I kind of liked it.















I spread it out on the floor, just to try to see the scope of it. If you click to make this photo bigger, you can see a lifeline just to the right of center. That’s the lifeline I ripped back to after the beer incident. I still have a hard time comprehending that I actually knit that much in that period of time.

210 rows... That’s a lot of lace!

I draped it artfully over my husbands broken foot.

03-Cast

It didn’t seem to make him feel any better, which was a surprise to me. How could you not feel better wearing baby alpaca?

Time for the bath.

04-Soak

05-Squoosh

Time for a beer.

06-Beer

I let it sit while I had some supper, and then hauled it gently out of the water.

07-Wet

I crawled around on the floor for quite a while, adjusting pins and checking measurements with a yardstick. Finally, I was happy with it.

08-Blocked

I still have a hard time believing that I made something so lovely and delicate.

09-Detail

Even though this lace is destined to live with my mother, I couldn’t resist trying it on.

10-Model

There are things I would do differently if I were to start this project again, but I’m doing my best to stop counting the flaws in my work so often. Especially for this project, I want to take the time to appreciate the things I learned while I was making it.

Mom, your stole’s ready in time for the symphony. I hope you like it.

14 comments:

Karen said...

Sooo pretty!
Wanna hear something weird? I, too, am knitting the Flame Shawl (in handpainted Misti Alpaca). And my blog-name is...KnitGeekery.
I swear I am not making this up.
:)
--Karen

Anna said...

Looks great!!! I'm always amazed at how blocking transforms lace projects.

I'm sure you're mother appreciates it! :)

Sarah said...

It's gorgeous! Don't count the flaws count all those beautiful stitches that make an amazing piece of lace.

Bells said...

oh the wonder of blocking. I will never get tired of it.

It's beautiful.

JustApril said...

Wow...it's so so beautiful =) I really like that pattern. Your mom is gonna faint and look gorgeous at the symphony (hopefully not at the same time, tho)

Yes...btw...
COLIN FIRTH!

Alwen said...

Isn't it amazing how lace looks after blocking. I especially love seeing people's before and after pictures.

Yeah, how can you not feel better wearing baby alpaca? I feel better just smooshing alpaca!

Anonymous said...

From yourmum;
Believe me, this shawl is like wearing spun air! It's gorgeous and I will feel sooooo special every time I wear it.
Thank you so much. Love, hugs, and kisses.
MWAH - laura

Anonymous said...

It looks absolutely stunning!

TinkingBell said...

Absolutely fabulous! Well done you!

Heidi said...

Lovely lace. It's something I mean to take on sometime in the near future...
I always have a heck of a time with my bindoffs being too tight, so maybe not.

Kyle William said...

three words: WOW!

:)

Joanne said...

A true beauty to behold! And, I am salivating just thinking about your comment on my blog about apple pie, cheddar cheese and coffee for breakfast. That will definitely be the next breakfast of champions around here. It really does give me something to look forward to!

knightlyknitter.wordpress.com said...

How beautiful! You did a lovely job.
And your post about making socks made me giggle:> My first ever "adult" socks fit my then 6yr-old son!

essjay said...

You should be so proud - it is stunning!